Professor William Ristenpart

Department of Chemical Engineering
3012 Bainer Hall
University of California
Davis, CA 95616

Email: wdristenpart at ucdavis.edu
Phone: (530) 752-8780

Research

My research is in complex transport phenomena, with an emphasis on using advanced experimental techniques to extract quantitative measurements from complicated phenomena. My group strives to answer fundamental scientific questions about a variety of systems where the transport behavior is paramount. Recent topics include: electrocoalescence of charged droplets, shear-induced deformation of red blood cells, electrically-induced aggregation of colloids near electrodes, and turbulent dispersion of airborne pathogens.  My lab has two Phantom high-speed cameras (a grayscale v7.1 and a color v7.3), both of which can capture at more than 100,000 frames per second. We also have several microscopes and various optical and laser systems.

I am also passionate about coffee – I serve as Director of the UC Davis Coffee Center, and see here for an overview of my undergraduate course, The Design of Coffee.